– We are trying to download a report from answers to Excel 2007 but its downloading as Excel 2003.
– Why is it?

– After clicking Download -> Download to Excel, in the request, saving the file and then trying to open it in 2003, the following message appears:

”
Microsoft Office Excel

The file you are trying to open, ‘Test.xls’, is in a different format than specified by the file extension. Verify that the file is not corrupted and is from a trusted source before opening the file. Do you want to open the file now?
[Yes][No][Help]
”

If I click on Yes button, I am able to open the report.

If I update some values and try to save then I get a warning message:

”
Microsoft Office Excel

test.xls may contain features that are not compatible with Single File Web Page. Do you want to keep the workbook in this format?

– To keep this format, which leaves out any incompatible features, click Yes.
– To preserve the features, click No. Then save a copy in the latest Excel format.
– To see what might be lost, click Help.

[Yes][No][Help]
”

I have to click on Yes button then it can be saved.

I should update and save this 2003 excel type on excel 2007 without any warning message.

– In Citrix, If I use Download -> Download to Excel and click on open button to open the file, I get this popup:

”
Windows Installer

Preparing to install…

[Cancel]
”

and that ends up with error:

”
D:\TEMP\…\Temporary_Internet_Files\Content.IE5\STMP6X8Z\Test.xls

Only Administrators have permission to add, remove, or configure server software during a Terminal services remote session. If you want to install or configure software on the server, contact your Network Administrator.

[Ok]
”

Solution

Comments
——–
1. Excel 2003 documents can be opened in Excel 2007.

2. From Release Notes OBIEE 10.1.3.4.1:
(“http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E10415_01/doc/bi.1013/e10404/toc.htm)
”
4.1.18 Limitation on the Number of Rows in MS Excel 2007
This issue applies to Versions 10.1.3.3, 10.1.3.3.1, 10.1.3.3.2, and 10.1.3.3.3. It is fixed in version 10.1.3.4.

In Microsoft Excel 2007, users cannot insert views that have more than 65536 rows. This is because Oracle BI Office uses an Excel 2003 based template, which has a limit of 65536 rows per sheet.
”

So, template used is for Microsoft Windows Excel 2003.

3. There is an Enhancement Request already filed asking to use an Excel 2007 template.
It is Document Bug 6970162, “Abstract: DOWNLOAD TO EXCEL REQUIRES TRANSLATION WHEN OFFICE 2007 INSTALLED”.

It is set to be reviewed for future versions. It has not yet been approved to be included in a particular version.

4. About the error you get when you try to open the downloaded file, in Excel 2007:

”
Microsoft Office Excel

The file you are trying to open, ‘Test.xls’, is in a different format than specified by the file extension. Verify that the file is not corrupted and is from a trusted source before opening the file. Do you want to open the file now?
[Yes][No][Help]
”

It is an Excel 2007 issue.

ORACLE cannot be responsible for giving you solutions for Microsoft Excel Issues, as it is not our area.
You could google the error.
Nevertheless, we are giving you an example of one of the documents available in Google for that error. Please, be aware it is being given as a guideline, if you want to try it.

where they say:
”
This errors particularly occurs when you’re trying to open an XLS file (Excel 2000-2003) with Excel 2007. In most cases, the problem can be solved by defining MIME types and associating them with extensions.
When you’re using a Document Management System (like Sharepoint or Livelink), you can try adding these:
.xls = application/msexcel
.xlsx = application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet

However, if you don’t want to look for a solution, but just want to solve the problem, insert this key in your registry to suppress the notification:

Open your Registry (Start -> Run -> regedit.exe)
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\OFFICE\12.0\EXCEL\SECURITY
Right click in the right window and choose New -> DWORD
Type “ExtensionHardening” as the name (without the quotes)
Verify that the data has the value “0?
”

You could talk to your Microsoft Excel Support to verify the workarounds given above, or to provide another solution.

5. About the error you get once you modify the file in Excel 2007 and try to save it:

”
Microsoft Office Excel

test.xls may contain features that are not compatible with Single File Web Page. Do you want to keep the workbook in this format?

– To keep this format, which leaves out any incompatible features, click Yes.
– To preserve the features, click No. Then save a copy in the latest Excel format.
– To see what might be lost, click Help.

[Yes][No][Help]
”

It seems to be due to OBIEE using mhtml when exporting to Excel.

There is an Enhancement Request already filed, Document Bug 5661454, “ABILITY TO GET EXCEL VIEWER WORKING WITH ‘DOWNLOAD TO EXCEL'”, requiring changing Excel download from MHTML to native Excel format.
It has been approved to be included in OBIEE 11.1.1.2.0.

Document Note 749436.1, “Download to Excel from reports downloading as HTML/MHTML rather than ‘real’ Excel”, explains more about that.

Having said that, the following document provides some information on the error when trying to save files with some formats in Excel 2007 (again, it is not an ORACLE article, so we are giving it only as a guide):

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/hp100141051033.aspx

They say:
”
The Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Workbook format (.xlsx) preserves all worksheet and chart data, formatting, and other features available in Office Excel 2007, and the Macro-Enabled Workbook format (.xlsm) preserves macros and macro sheets in addition to those features.

If you frequently share workbook data with people who use an earlier version of Excel, you can work in Compatibility Mode to prevent the loss of data and fidelity when the workbook is opened in the earlier version of Excel, or you can use converters that help you transition the data. For more information, see Use Office Excel 2007 with earlier versions of Excel(http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA100775611033.aspx).
…
…
…
Web Page and Single File Web Page
These Web Page file formats (.htm, .html), Single File Web Page file formats (.mht, .mhtml) can be used for exporting Excel data. In Office Excel 2007, worksheet features (such as formulas, charts, PivotTables, and Visual Basic for Application (VBA) projects) are no longer supported in these file formats, and they will be lost when you open a file in this file format again in Excel.
”

6. About the other errors you get on Citrix:

”
Windows Installer

Preparing to install…

[Cancel]
”

and

”
D:\TEMP\…\Temporary_Internet_Files\Content.IE5\STMP6X8Z\Test.xls

Only Administrators have permission to add, remove, or configure server software during a Terminal services remote session. If you want to install or configure software on the server, contact your Network Administrator.

[Ok]
”

You would need to verify them with your Citrix Support, as they cannot be reproduced outside Citrix. The error text seems to say you do not have permissions to write in the TEMP directory for IE to create a temporary Excel file. It is a Windows issue also, apparently.

References
BUG:5661454 – ABILITY TO GET EXCEL VIEWER WORKING WITH ‘DOWNLOAD TO EXCEL’
BUG:6970162 – DOWNLOAD TO EXCEL REQUIRES TRANSLATION WHEN OFFICE 2007 INSTALLED
NOTE:749436.1 – Download to Excel from reports downloading as HTML/MHTML rather than ‘real’ Excel